Evolution E-Mail, Calendars, and Addresses - Working with Ubuntu Workstation - Ubuntu Linux For Dummies (2007)

Ubuntu Linux For Dummies (2007)

Part III: Working with Ubuntu Workstation

Chapter 15. Evolution E-Mail, Calendars, and Addresses

In This Chapter

· Configuring Evolution e-mail accounts

· Sending and receiving e-mail

· Entering contact information in the address book

· Recording appointments on the calendar

Evolution is the de facto GNOME and Ubuntu e-mail program. Evolution provides messaging plus calendaring and address book functions. It's a full-featured system similar to Microsoft Outlook.

This chapter describes how to use Evolution e-mail and related functions. I guide you through configuring your e-mail account, using calendars, and making contact lists.

Introducing Evolution

Evolution is an all-in-one system that provides a wealth of features that makes your computing life easier. Some Evolution features are

· E-mail: Create one or more e-mail accounts.

· Junk mail filtering: Filter junk mail using Evolution's adaptive filtering system. Evolution learns what is and isn't junk mail as you receive messages.

· Searching: Search your messages using Evolution's advanced searching system.

· Message integrity: Digitally sign and encrypt your messages.

· Web sharing: Share your calendar and contacts on the Web.

Chapter 15. Evolution E-Mail, Calendars, and Addresses

In This Chapter

· Configuring Evolution e-mail accounts

· Sending and receiving e-mail

· Entering contact information in the address book

· Recording appointments on the calendar

Evolution is the de facto GNOME and Ubuntu e-mail program. Evolution provides messaging plus calendaring and address book functions. It's a full-featured system similar to Microsoft Outlook.

This chapter describes how to use Evolution e-mail and related functions. I guide you through configuring your e-mail account, using calendars, and making contact lists.

Introducing Evolution

Evolution is an all-in-one system that provides a wealth of features that makes your computing life easier. Some Evolution features are

· E-mail: Create one or more e-mail accounts.

· Junk mail filtering: Filter junk mail using Evolution's adaptive filtering system. Evolution learns what is and isn't junk mail as you receive messages.

· Searching: Search your messages using Evolution's advanced searching system.

· Message integrity: Digitally sign and encrypt your messages.

· Web sharing: Share your calendar and contacts on the Web.

Configuring Evolution for E-Mail

You can use Evolution to access your existing e-mail accounts. Using Evolution's calendar and contact list also requires a little bit of work.

Evolution provides an easy-to-use configuration wizard that helps you do the setup work. In the steps that follow, I walk you through the setup process, but first you need to know some information about your e-mail account. Contact your ISP (Internet service provider) to find out the following information:

· Account username: ___________________

· E-mail address: ___________________

· Account password: ___________________

· Incoming e-mail server name: ___________________

· Incoming e-mail server encryption (None, SSL, TLS): ___________________

· Outgoing e-mail server name: ____________________

· Outgoing e-mail server encryption (None, SSL, TLS): ___________________

You will need this information to configure Evolution to send and receive e-mail to and from your ISP.

Opening the configuration wizard and setting up your e-mail account identity

Start by opening Evolution and entering your name and e-mail account username. Follow these steps:

1. Click the Evolution icon (looks like an envelope with a clock in front of it) on the GNOME menu bar.

The Evolution Setup Assistant dialog opens.

Or you can start Evolution by choosing ApplicationsInternetEvolution from the GNOME menu bar.

2. Click the Forward button.

The Evolution Setup Assistant dialog, shown in Figure 15-1 , opens.

Figure 15-1: The Evolution Setup Assistant - Identity dialog.

· Type your name and e-mail address in their respective text boxes.

You can also enter an alternative e-mail address and a company or organization name in the appropriate text boxes.

After you've entered your identity, you need to configure Evolution to receive incoming e-mail. That process is described in the following section.

Setting your incoming e-mail server

After you enter your identity, you tell Evolution about the server handling your e-mail account. The server is managed by the ISP (Internet service provider) whom you have registered your e-mail account with.

Chapters 8 and 9 provide advice about finding and selecting an ISP.

Follow these steps to continue with the configuration wizard you began in the preceding section:

1. Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Identity dialog.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Receiving Email dialog opens. Figure 15-1 shows a sample window.

Figure 15-1: Evolution Setup Assistant - Receiving Email window.

· From the Server Type drop-down menu, choose your e-mail server's protocol.

You need to obtain the server's e-mail protocol from the person who runs the system. The most popular protocols are IMAP, POP, and Microsoft Exchange.

· Type the server's network name (or numeric IP address) in the Server text box.

You need to get the e-mail server's network name from your ISP.

· If your ISP provides SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security), choose that encryption from the Use Secure Connection drop-down menu.

Use encryption if available.

· Click the Check for Supported Types button.

· Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Receiving Email dialog.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Receiving Options dialog opens.

Selecting optional e-mail receiving options

You can select options such as automatically polling your e-mail account for new messages; you can specify the polling period to be one or more minutes. Follow these steps to continue with the Evolution Setup Assistant from the preceding section:

1. If you want Evolution to automatically check for and display new incoming messages, select the Automatically Check for New Mail Every check box.

2. Change the time value to the minimum of 1 minute (if you're connected to the Internet via a broadband connection) or select an interval of 10 minutes (if you use a slower, dial-up Internet connection).

3. Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Receiving Options dialog.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Sending Email dialog opens.

Setting your e-mail sending options

Now you set up Evolution to send messages to your e-mail server. Figure 15-1 shows the Evolution Setup Assistant - Sending Email window that you open in the preceding section.

Figure 15-1: Setting your e-mail sending options.

1. From the Server Type drop-down menu, select the Sendmail option if that's what your mail server uses.

Most e-mail systems use the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

2. Type your server network name or numerical IP address in the Server text box.

3. If your server supports an encryption option, select it from the Use Secure Connection drop-down menu.

4. Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Sending Email dialog.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Account Management dialog opens.

Choosing your time zone

E-mail messages that you send contain time and date stamps. You need to tell Evolution what time zone you live in so that the time stamp is accurate. Follow these steps to set up your time zone:

1. Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Account Management dialog you open in the preceding section.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Timezone dialog opens and shows a map of the world's time zones. Figure 15-1 shows the window.

Figure 15-1: Select your time zone.

· Select your city.

You can either choose your city from the Selection drop-down menu or follow these steps to use the map:

1. Click the diamond icon of the city closest to your location.

The map enlarges, zooming in on the area where you clicked.

2. If you didn't locate your closest city, click again in the enlarged map.

3. If you still can't locate your time zone — for instance, you live in the Twilight Time Zone — type your time zone in the Selection text box.

· Click the Forward button in the Evolution Setup Assistant - Timezone dialog.

The Evolution Setup Assistant - Done dialog opens.

· Click Apply.

The Enter Password For dialog opens.

Entering your e-mail account password

The final configuration steps require you to set a password for outgoing messages:

1. In the Enter Password For dialog that you open in the preceding section, type your e-mail account password in the text box and press Enter.

2. If you want Evolution to remember your password (rather than typing it each time you open Evolution), select the Remember this Password radio button.

Evolution saves your password and uses it to log in to your account in the future.

3. Click OK.

The Evolution - Mail window opens.

Evolution provides a default e-mail account called On This Computer that isn't connected to any external service. Your new account is located below the local one.

o Click the arrow next to your e-mail account and a list of your account folders unfolds.

o Click your inbox and you see your messages.

You can create as many e-mail accounts as you want and need. Repeat the steps described in this section to create additional ones.

Using Evolution

Evolution provides many services in addition to e-mail messaging. This section starts by describing how to use its messaging service and proceeds to explore its address book and calendaring services.

E-mail messaging with Evolution

Evolution performs basic messaging services such as sending and receiving e-mails. It also provides helpful features such as spell checking.

The following list outlines Evolution's basic messaging capabilities:

· New: Click the New drop-down menu and select Mail Message to create a new e-mail message. The Compose Message window opens, in which you type your recipient's address, a subject, and of course, your message.

Click the Attach button, near the top, center of the Compose Message dialog, to include attachments in your message.

· Receive: Click any message displayed in your inbox or other folders to select and display the message.

Evolution provides the following buttons to provide shortcuts to its basic functions:

· Send/Receive: Evolution queues outgoing messages until you click this button. Clicking this button sends any outgoing messages you've composed and also forces Evolution to download any messages addressed to you from the e-mail server.

· Reply: Using the Reply button opens the selected message and includes the message in a new message addressed to the sender. Reply to All performs the same function and additionally copies the message to all other addressees from the original e-mail.

· Forward: Using the Forward button copies and forwards the selected message to an address of your choosing.

· Print: Prints the selected message.

· Delete: Deletes the selected message.

· Junk: Selecting a message and clicking the Junk button declares the message junk mail and moves it to the Junk folder. Evolution learns what messages are junk as you declare more junk messages. With time, Evolution filters out junk messages automatically, placing them in the Junk folder. (You should check the Junk folder to weed out any mistakes. Click the Not Junk button when a message has erroneously been declared; this also helps Evolution to make better selections.)

· Cancel: Clicking this button cancels any operation in progress.

Keeping track of contact information

Keep contact lists will Evolution. Who it matters not. Click the Contacts button in the submenu in the lower-left corner of the Evolution window, and Evolution displays your contact list.

Click the New button on the Evolution toolbar and the Contact Editor dialog, shown in Figure 15-1 , opens.

Figure 15-1: Enter the contact information for the person you want to keep in touch with.

Type the person's full name, nickname, and other information in the appropriate text boxes. You can file the contact in various categories: friends, family, business, enemies. (No, just kidding. There aren't any Evolution enemies!)

You can also use received messages to populate your contact list. Here's how to shuffle the data from an incoming e-mail into your contact list:

1. Open any message and right-click the sender's e-mail address.

2. Select the Add to Address Book option in the menu that opens.

The Contact Quick-Add dialog opens.

3. If you want to add information like addresses and phone numbers to your contact, click the Edit Full button.

The Contact Editor dialog opens. (Refer to Figure 15-1 .) Add any additional, but unessential, information you want to your new contact.

4. Click OK.

Your new contact is added to your address book.

Calendaring with Evolution

Evolution also provides calendaring capabilities. Evolution can run a calendar for you on your Ubuntu computer. This section describes the basics to using the calendar function.

Select the calendar operation by clicking the Calendars button in the lower-left corner of the Evolution window. The Evolution - Calendars window opens. Figure 15-1 shows an example.

Figure 15-1: Organize your time with the Evolution calendar.

Adding events

Editing the calendar is a straightforward process. Follow these steps:

1. If necessary, select the month by clicking the Forward/Backward button immediately next to the month. Select the day by clicking it.

You can select another year, if you're super organized!

An hour-by-hour schedule for the selected date opens in the middle of the window.

2. Click the desired hour and type a message.

Your event is saved in the Evolution calendar. Any date with a scheduled event is displayed in bold font in the month box. Clicking a date displays any scheduled events.

Deleting events

You can delete events from the calendar, too. Follow these steps:

1. Click the date of the event.

The daily schedule opens.

2. Right-click the event and choose Delete.

The Evolution Query dialog opens.

3. Click Delete.

You've successfully canceled your appointment.

You should confirm any appointments you delete with the person you have the appointment with. Evolution is great, but your boss might not think you're so great if you don't confirm.

Adding alarms

Evolution can sound an alarm (beep) before your appointment. The following steps set an alarm:

1. Click Edit and select Preferences.

The Evolution Preference dialog opens.

2. Select the Show a reminder radio button under the Alarms heading near the bottom of the dialog.

The alarm is automatically set for 15 minutes before an appointment.

3. If you want more or less time before the appointment, click and choose another number in the Alarm text box.

Once you set the Show a reminder option, Evolution will alert you before every appointment.

Setting up Meetings using Evolution Calendars

Evolution can help you schedule meetings. Let's say you want to schedule a meeting with your barber shop quartet to discuss your imminent fame on American Idol.

The guys are hard to get hold of but they all, of course, use Evolution on their Ubuntu computers. Using Evolution, you'll all be famous — or perhaps infamous — soon. Here's how:

1. If necessary, open Evolution by selecting ApplicationsInternetEvolution Mail from the GNOME menu bar.

The Evolution window opens.

Using Evolution to setup meetings requires you to configure Evolution to send and receive e-mail messages. See sections Configuring Evolution for Email for configuration instructions.

2. Click the Calendars button towards the lower, left of the window.

Your personal Calendar is displayed.

3. Click on the day and time you want to setup the meeting.

The text box to the right of the selected hour is highlighted.

4. Type in the name you want to call the meeting.

5. Right-click on the meeting and select the Forward as Icalendar from the unnamed drop-down menu that appears.

An outgoing message window opens.

6. Type in the e-mail addresses of all the attendees, including yourself, separated by commas in the To: text box.

7. Click the Send button.

1. Click the Mail button in the left side of the Evolution window.

Evolution displays your e-mail folders.

2. Click the Send/Receive button.

Evolution reads all message headers from your e-mail provider and displays the new one, requesting the meeting, that you just sent.

3. Click on the meeting message.

Evolution displays the message, which includes the meeting information.

4. Click the on Open Calendar button at the bottom of the message and Evolution opens your calendar and displays the meeting details.

5. Click on the Mail button again to return to the Mail window.

6. Click the Accept button at the bottom of the message, to the right of the Open Calendar button, and a message will be sent to the sender — you in this case — affirming that you will be in attendance.





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